Satisfying Your Gaming Addiction

3DS XL’s Lack of Second Analog Justified

In a recent interview with the UK Dependant Satoru Iwata revealed why the 3DS XL does not include the second analog stick that many gamers have been clamoring for. Though an add-on very similar to the one released for 3DS will be released, called The Circle Pad Pro, which will allow for second analog stick functionality. With the increase in size over the 3DS however, this attachment will seemingly make this system non-portable due to its size.

“Attaching a second analogue stick is possible but it would have made the system even bigger,” Iwata said. “It perhaps puts a burden on people that really want that second stick, it’s a call we had to make and these people will have to live with it. ”

“When we looked at the design of the 3DS XL we had to look at various factors,” Iwata went on to describe some more reasons, including why they choose to upgrade certain aspects of the 3DS and not to add the second analog. “One was battery life, one was the overall size of the unit, and we had to make some trade-offs. The choice, if we were going to include the second analogue stick, was to reduce the size of the battery or make the unit much bigger. ”

So Nintendo have choose battery life over a second analog stick, I personally would have loved the second analog stick myself and battery life was not a big issue for me. With that empty space on the 3DS XL looking ever so inviting for that second stick, looks like we won’t be seeing it anytime soon.